Making a Murderer Doc - Publicity - H 2016
Courtesy of NetflixMaking a Murderer swept the nonfiction series category at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys and took home a total of four trophies during the Sunday night event.
The crime series, written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, nabbed an award for best documentary or nonfiction series and one each for writing, directing and picture editing for a nonfiction program. It also was up for two other honors, sound mixing and sound editing for a nonfiction program, but lost out to Cartel Land and Vice, respectively.
Netflix’s 10-part series chronicles the life of Steven Avery, a man wrongfully convicted for sexual assault and attempted murder who served 18 years in prison before being exonerated in 2003 only to then be convicted of murder in 2007. It became a hit for the streamer when it became available online over the holidays in late 2015.
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“It was such a wake-up call for us to document this story,” Ricciardi said after receiving the Emmy for best direction of a nonfiction program. “We had so many questions going in. So many questions remain. … We need to have empathy for one another, ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law, and that we respect human dignity and human rights.”
Netflix ordered new episodes for the series in July, following the announcement of its six Emmy noms.
Backstage after collecting their trophies, the filmmakers said that they were going to continue to follow the story now that Avery’s nephew, Brendan Dassey, has had his homicide conviction overturned. “This is just part of the process,” said Demos. “This is justice at work, and we will continue to document that. It’s a very trying time for all of the families involved.”
They also spoke about their next project, a scripted adaptation of The Huffington Post article “America’s Most Admired Lawbreaker.” George Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures is producing the project and Sonar is financing it. They said that they are in the development stage and that no network has yet signed onto the series. “It’s an incredibly complex project,” said Demos, noting that it spans 20 years and has “an incredibly rich cast of characters.”
